Nothing is Ever Easy
by BoundLight
Summary: Sequel to "Hypatia," however, can be read alone. After finding an old book, Sam, Dean and Castiel go on a mission to find a weapon to kill Lucifer. Eventual Dean/Cas, rated M to be safe, please be kind.
1. Chapter 1

Dean sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard, flicking idly through the simple TV. Crap, crap, crap, hot chick? Nope, bow flex commercial. Crap, crap, ooo, Dr. Sexy M.D.

He lost himself in the familiarity of the show, forgetting his problems as he let himself become awash in the fictional lives before him. When the program drew to a close Dean allowed his eyes to settle on the rooms other occupants. Sam and Castiel were at the table going through an ancient book. It was written in a language unrecognizable to Sam and Dean, but, of course, Castiel was quite fluent. The two had worked out a system, Cas read aloud, reading Sam's mind to know when to go back and repeat a passage, or when to skip ahead to the next page, and Sam was copying important sentences and phrases, musing aloud his interpretations of the archaic terminology.

Dean's eyes lingered on Castiel. He was sitting in just the right spot, light from the window behind him lending him an unearthly glow. He was beautiful.

Seeming to know he was being watched, Cas looked up and locked eyes with Dean. Dean lost himself in an ocean of blue. It was only for a moment before the angel was once more engaged in the book, but the tightness Dean felt in his chest didn't fade. Oh this was bad. Jumping an angel while his brother was in the room was definitely a bad idea. Hell, jumping an angel in general was bad. Consciously he knew that anyway; he kept _telling_ himself it wasn't a good idea, but he was always bad at listening to logic, and he continued to pine for blue eyes.

Dean shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of the angel. Another episode of Dr. Sexy began. This time the show didn't do much for him, he couldn't focus on the flashing images when perfection sat on the other side of the room. Giving up, he stood and grabbed his jacket.

"I'm gonna go grab food."

Castiel looked at him with a tilted head, and Sam gave him a brief acknowledgement, and then Dean was out the door.

He decided on a diner at the other end of town, letting the peace of the drive clear his head.

It took him twenty minutes to reach his destination. He went inside and grabbed a menu, quickly selecting enough food for him and his brother. The waitress smiled flirtatiously as she copied down his order. "Anything else, darlin'?"

A cocky grin spread across Dean's face. He looked up, and the witty remark died on his tongue as he met her dark blue eyes. He sputtered, for a moment before he regained himself, "uh… oh. Yeah," his eyes flicked down a page of desserts, "How's the cherry pie?" The waitress grinned, "Best in town." "Sounds great, I'll take it." The waitress sauntered back to the kitchen, and Dean sat at the counter, his mind conjuring the image of Castiel sitting at the table, bathed in light, looking up at him with big blue eyes…

He didn't hear the waitress return, and jumped when she touched his shoulder. She placed a large bag in front of him, "Will that be all hun?" Dean nodded, and the waitress handed him the bill, winked, and went to help another patron. Dean looked at the bill and noted the waitresses' phone number at the bottom. He chuckled, paid, and left.

When he returned Sam was alone, pacing. He dropped the bag of food onto the small table next to the old book. He noticed a piece of paper marking a page.

"Dude, keep that up and you'll wear a hole in the carpet."

Sam paused, considered his brother and resumed his pacing.

Dean snagged a burger and bit into it loudly. "Seriously. What?"

Sam sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Man, this sucks."

Dean raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but remained silent. After a moment Sam sat down opposite his brother. He eyed the bag of food, before looking away.

"It pains me to ask this, but what's wrong?"

Sam sighed, and viciously grabbed his share of the food. "Okay, Cas and I might have found something…."

Dean grinned around his burger, "Isn't that good? What we were trying to do in the first place?"

Sam picked at the food in front of him, shredding a piece of bread. "I don't know man. Cas has an idea... A really, really bad one. You are not going to like it."

Dean carefully swallowed, and cast his eyes around the room "Yeah, where is he anyway?"

Sam leaned back in his chair. "He's uh… you know, I don't really know." Finally he met Deans eyes. "We read that book cover to cover three times, we found some relevant passages, and Cas was right man, it described a weapon that we might be able to use against Lucifer, some really old knife. Like an angel version of Ruby's knife. Cas says if we can get him close to it he'd be able to sense it."

Dean regarded his brother. Sam seemed disheveled, worried even. Dean shook his head, "Dude, how is this a bad thing? We found a way to kick Luci's ass _hard_ and you're depressed? Shouldn't we be, oh I don't know, celebrating?" Dean grinned and nudged his brother with his foot.

Sam stood abruptly and started pacing again, "You don't get it Dean. The book says that the demon who has it only ever brings it out when there's an all out angel versus demon battle."

"So we just have to find some fight, get Cas in close enough to ID the right guy and get out. Really man, this sounds like a good thing, maybe our luck is finally turning."

Dean's grin faded at his brothers unimpressed expression. "No, it isn't that easy. Cas cant just interrupt the fight, come on Dean, after Lucifer, he's the next most wanted. Both sides would just try to kill him! And that's if we can even _find_ the fight. Cas says that usually he'd go seek 'revelation' and they'd just tell him where to go, but since he's been cut off he has to try to tap into angel radio without getting found out. That's where he is dude. He didn't want them to know where we are if he gets caught."

"He's doing what?! And you _let him??_ Jesus Sammy, couldn't we have just called up Gabe and asked him?"

"Yeah we thought about that, but there aren't any reports of deaths matching the Trickster profile anywhere in the country, and Cas didn't want to wait."

Dean left his burger unfinished, shoving it back into the bag. He'd lost his appetite. "So we're just going to sit here and pray Cas comes back ok? That sounds like a crap plan Sam, come on, I thought you were supposed to be the smart brother."

"Dean, even cut off from Heaven Cas is way stronger than either of us. How was I supposed to stop him?" He grunted and fell back onto his bed. "And I wouldn't suggest praying either; we probably shouldn't tip off anyone who might be listening upstairs."

They sat in silence for an uncomfortable minute before Dean sighed and admitted Sam had a point. Cas was a big boy and could make _completely idiotic _and _stupid_ decisions about his own welfare if he wanted. He moved over to where Sam lay, and situated himself near his brothers head.

He was going to have to say it. He _hated_ saying it. He looked at Sam's face, noted the dark expression and took a deep breath. "Sorry Sammy. You're right, 's not your fault Cas left."

"Damn right" Sam scoffed, but his face lightened.

"So what happens next?"

"You mean if Cas manages to hack into the angels frequency without being discovered, find the orders he's looking for, _leave_ without anyone noticing and come back here? After all that?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. After that."

"Oh, well _then_ we have to find this battlefield before anything gets under way, take on the entire demon army by ourselves, and then, if we manage to do all that, we have to find this knife and get the hell out of Dodge before the angel army decides they want a piece of us too."

Dean nodded. Of course it couldn't be easy, nothing ever was. "Okay, I have one question."

Sam grinned, "Really? Only one?"

Dean punched his shoulder, "Bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean lay back and contemplated light fixture hanging from the ceiling. "Why don't the angels just come at us while we're fighting the demons? You know, come in from behind while we're busy."

"That's actually why Cas is hacking the system. Apparently angels fight battles a bit differently then humans do. Cas says the angels are going to show up, and that they're just going to stand watch. I think it's to intimidate their enemy or something like that, anyway, point is, none of them are allowed to engage until the guy in charge shows up and leads the initial drive. So if we know when _he's_ going to show up we can just swoop in early and get out quick."

"I don't know man. We're putting a lot of faith into the angels holding off. I'm just not sure if they will if we dangle Cas and _you _in front of them."

"Come on Dean; remember how obedient Cas used to be? Still is even? Now think about an angel right before a battle. They're probably going to be so focused on waiting for orders that they don't even notice us."

Dean shook his head, "This just sounds like a bad plan Sammy. So much could go wrong."

Sam sat up and eyed Dean. "Since when are you this cautious?"

Dean pondered this, and in lieu of a good answer, grabbed a pillow and attacked his brother. Sam was quick to jump up, grab a pillow of his own and return the assault fiercely. They chased each other around the room, leaping off beds and over chairs, shouting and taunting.

Dean was running with Sam hot on his heels when the elder suddenly stopped, turned, and swung hard at his brothers' head. Sam was quick to duck and the pillow hit the smaller man behind him squarely in the face.

There was a moment of shocked silence, the pillow that had left Dean's hands in the ferocity of the moment now hung limp and dejected from the angels hands. Sam slowly stood from his crouch, and together he and Dean took in the state of the room.

Both the beds had been stripped of their comforters; the sheets were crumpled and had migrated into the crack between the beds and the wall. The bag of food now lay on its side on the floor, whatever had been inside it was squished to a paste. The table was still upright, but the chairs that had been around it were all over turned, one was missing a leg. Feathers covered every available surface; some still hung in the air and were slowly circling downward. One landed in Castiel's hair. Sam and Dean shared a guilty look, and then their eyes flashed to the door, back, and they both ran for it, shoving each other out of the way in the scramble for the door knob. Sam somehow managed to slip out and slam the door behind him leaving Dean alone in the room with Cas.

Dean ducked his head and looked at his angel from under his eye lashes. Cas stood with his head cocked to the side, looking at Dean as though he were trying to figure out the inner workings of the world. Dean felt his face heat under such scrutiny, and he quickly began cleaning up the room. After righting all the chairs, (well, _most_ of them), he quickly glanced back over at Cas. The angel was still watching him with that curious expression. Dean picked up and trashed the bag of food, gave up and stomped back over to his friend. He crossed his arms, locked eyes with the angel and glared. Calm blue eyes searched intense green, neither looked away. Minutes began to tick by, and Dean felt his eye twitch, finally he had to look away and blink. When he looked back he suddenly seemed to notice how close he was standing to Castiel. For a moment he considered taking a step back, but, still feeling rather aggressive from his battle with Sam, reconsidered and instead took a step forward. Cas blinked and tilted his head up, but otherwise did not move. Dean took another step forward, forcing Cas to take one back. And another. And a third.

Confusion clouded Castiel's eyes, "Dean?"

Dean contemplated the angel, allowing his eyes to trace perfectly upswept hair, the serious expression, the slightly undone tie and rumpled shirt. Impulsively, he reached out and fixed the tie. When he finally managed to lock his gaze with the smaller man once more, he discovered himself under similar examination. Unwilling to push the encounter, Dean took a step back, and the tension in the air dissipated.

"Did you find out about the fight?"

Cas easily transitioned into the change in subject. "Yes. There is a confrontation taking place in two days. There is a town located on holy ground and has always been blessed with good fortune and prosperity; a group of demons have decided to drag the town down into chaos and despair. At midnight on the third day Heaven will reign down upon the town, cleansing it of the demon infection."

Dean felt anger rise in his chest, and he viciously cast around the room picking up feathers. "And how many people are going to die in this cleansing?"

"Likely the whole town."

Dean snorted. Of course. Fucking angels; they really were just dicks with wings. "Why not just swoop in early and stop the invasion before anyone gets hurt?"

Cas fixed his eyes on the far wall, and shifted his weight in an oddly human gesture. "They want as many demons in vessels as possible so they can be contained and banished to hell. If they swept in earlier many would get away."

Dean nodded. It made sense in cold and heartless way. "So when do we go in."

"_We_ are not."

"…What? I thought the whole point was to go kick some demon ass before the angels get involved."

"Yes it is." Cas locked eyes with Dean, "But, I will be doing this alone."


	2. Chapter 2

Dean stopped and turned. Cas's eyes were still fixed on the opposite wall. Dean moved so he was standing directly in the other mans line of sight.

"No. No, you are not doing this alone. Cas, that's suicide!"

"Regardless. Harm must not come to you or Sam. I am… expendable."

Dean was stunned. Was he serious? "Cas… come on man, you cant think like that!"

He gripped Cas tight by the lapels, and shoved him up against a wall. The angel still refused to look at him. Dean waited for Cas to meet his eyes, enjoying the feel of the other man pressed closely to him. As the minutes dragged by Dean's patience ran out, he gripped the angels chin gently and lifted. Castiel leaned back against the wall and regarded him coolly. Dean suddenly seemed to notice how close he was to Cas. Once again that little voice told him to back up, back up _now_ before Cas freaked out and pulled a vanishing act. Unrequited lo- _feelings_ he could deal with, but if Cas left, he wasn't sure what he would do.

Dean tried, he really did, but when he pulled back he finally _saw _Castiel, and he couldn't have stayed away if he tried.

The angel was more disheveled than usual, and standing flat against the wall he looked vulnerable. When Dean finally made his way back to Cas's eyes, he noticed the look of defiance. Dean smirked; he knew underneath that vulnerability was a hidden strength that could flatten him without even trying. Knowing Cas could stop this whenever he wanted, Dean pressed closer to the angel, run his hands down a firm chest until his fingers tangled in Castiel's belt loops. He jerked the narrow hips firmly against his, causing the angels legs to spread wider, before pinning him securely to the wall behind him. Slowly Dean leaned forward until his lips rested against Castiel's ear.

For a second he just breathed.

"Cas," He paused, organizing his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to say, but being this close to his angel was making thinking difficult.

"Cas, all my life all I've had was Sammy; even when my dad was alive Sam was the only person I could count on. You know Dad would be… gone. All the time. But Sam…Sam was always there. And then one day …he wasn't." Deans fingers twitched restlessly at the angels waist. He hated chick flick moments, but Cas needed to hear this, so he would try, even if it was awkward and painful.

Dean exhaled, and when he could continue, he gripped Castiel's waist tightly, "At first I thought I could go on without him, but time has shown…I just cant. I cant leave my brother behind, because he's my _family_ and in life, family is all that matters." He pulled back and looked at the man in his arms. Cas met his gaze, his head tilted to the side, confusion clouding his eyes. He leaned back in, and kissed Castiel's ear lightly, "Now in my life, Sam is still there, but … so are you. Get it? You pulled me out of Hell, saved my ass more times than I can count, you've saved my brother when I couldn't, you stood up to heaven for me, you _Fell_ for me, Cas, you are a part of this family now. You need to remember that." Dean pulled back and locked eyes with Castiel. "Winchester's protect each other. You get me? We don't run into huge fights without back up! You are _not_ doing this by yourself." He pressed a firm kiss to Cas's mouth and took a step back.

Frankly, he was expecting to get punched. You don't kiss your friends, sappy speech or no. What he wasn't expecting was a softening of Castiel's eyes, and the slight smile that graced his face. For a moment Dean considered crowding his space again… so of course Sam chose that moment to come back.

He froze when he saw how close the two of them were standing, and broke out in a large grin at Dean's guilty expression, winking encouragingly at Cas. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Dean rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Don't make me kick your ass _again_ Sammy."

"Whatever dude, I totally owned you."

"You wish!"

"No, I _know._"

A brief scuffle broke out again, ending with the two lying on the floor panting.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Castiel watched all this with a bemused expression.

Dean stretched out a hand and smacked Sam's arm. "Hey, he's not doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Going alone. No, absolutely not."

"I told ya you wouldn't like it."

"Dean," Cas interjected, "this is how it must be."

Dean sat up, "Cas, I can see you taking on three, maybe four demons on your own, _maybe_, but we're talking about interrupting a skirmish right? That means heaven is worried enough to send a _garrison_ of angels to fight these guys. Even if all three of us fought, we'd be massively out numbered. There is no way you can handle this on your own."

Sam nodded, "Especially since we only have one weapon that can kill those guys, and there's going to be way too many for a devils trap to be any help."

While Castiel's expression changed very little, Dean could easily read the annoyance there.

"I have been in many battles, I have fought many demons. I can do this alone."

"Cas, no! You could die!" Dean pointed a warning finger at the angel, "And don't you dare start with that 'expendable' shit again."

"I will not allow either of you be harmed!" Cas looked away as though ashamed, "Not when I cannot heal you."

Silence filled the room. Dean's mouth hung open.

After a moment Sam spoke, "Cas, how do angels fight demons anyway?"

Cas's eyes jumped to the younger Winchester, confused by the subject change.

"I mean, there are too many to banish individually right?"

Cas blinked, "Yes that would be inefficient. We use a variety of weapons that have been blessed and cleansed with holy water. When a demon comes in contact with the blade its soul is cleaved and sent back to Hell."

Sam contemplated this, "Could Dean and I handle one of those weapons?"

Cas lowered his gaze, "No, it requires a great purity of soul. I-I'm not actually sure if I can handle one."

Dean was up in an instant, his hands framed Castiel's face. "Sam and I have met our fair share of angels Cas. All of them are dicks, every one. You are a better angel then any of them could ever hope to be." He studied the angels eyes. "So that's why we cant fight with you, huh? 'Cause we cant use any of those weapons?"

"Yes…and because if you were to fight with me, all of my attention would be focused on protecting you. I would do better if I knew you were safe."

Again Cas wore that shy smile, Dean felt his chest warm. He reached out to brush a strand of hair from the angels face.

Sam cleared his throat, and slowly Dean stepped back. "Uh, right, so…uh…"

Sam jumped in, "Where would you get one of those weapons?"

Cas tore his eyes from Dean to focus on Sam. "I know the location of an old holy sword. It's being kept in a Church near Vatican City. I can retrieve it, and begin the process of blessing it. The procedure will take at least a full day, and then we will find out if I can wield the blade."

Dean frowned, "So there's no talking you out of it then…"

Cas glared, his shoulders rising slightly.

Dean and Sam shared a speculative look. Sam raised an eye brow and shrugged. Dean's brow furrowed and he shook his head. Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation and nodded towards Cas. Dean snorted, "Fine." He went to the fridge and grabbed three beers, handed one to Cas, one to Sam, and popped the cap off of his, downing a third of it in one gulp. Sam sipped at his, as Cas sniffed it a little doubtfully.

"Okay, here's the deal," Cas tilted his head as he analyzed Dean. "You're going to take Ruby's knife with you, and Sam and I are coming. We'll hang back with the Impala, but there is no way you're going by yourself alright?"

Cas nodded slowly.

"Good. If you start to feel overwhelmed, you fall back, got it? This isn't important enough to die for. There will be other opportunities to get this thing, so you need to be careful. Agreed?" He held out his hand.

Cas stared at it for a moment, before gripping it tightly. "Alright Dean."

Dean gripped the hand fiercely and pointed a finger in Cas's face, "And you've gotta promise me you're not gonna die."

For a moment Cas just stared at him. Finally he nodded, "I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: This chapter contains M/M sex, if you don't want to read that…well, you probably shouldn't be reading a Dean/Cas story then should you?**

**Warning the SECOND!: I've never actually **_**written**_** a sex scene before…so be warned that it might be just awful.**

Authors Note: Thank you to all the people who have added this story to their alerts, or favorites. I am only beginning to indulge my story writing side, and it makes me all warm and fuzzy to know that people don't hate this.

I would also like to add, I know very little about swords, and while google did its best to help me, any errors are my own. I know in my head what it looks like, but expressing that is another thing entirely. On that note, I don't have any friends who do the whole fanfic thing, so all this is unbetaed, meaning, _all_ errors are my own. I review all posts three or four times before they go up, so hopefully there won't be any.

Thank you for reading, on to the fic

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When Dean released Castiel's hand, the angel disappeared.

Dean turned, shaking his head, "I hate when they do that."

He grabbed a bag and started unloading weapons and depositing them on his bed. Sam joined him, and together they cleaned their guns and sharpened their knives. After an hour had passed, Castiel appeared.

He was holding a long sword; the blade was a gleaming silver, the guard was gold and accented with red gems, and the hilt was a fine pearl.

Cas situated himself in a corner of the room and held the sword out flat in front of him. He began a steady chant in some obscurely beautiful language that rolled off his tongue like water. As he spoke, the sword glowed blue and gently lifted off of his hands, levitating a few inches above his touch.

Sam noticed the blue aura was rippling on the blade, as though it was a liquid that the sword was engulfed in rather than a light.

Dean wasn't looking at the sword; he was looking at his angels face. Castiel's eyes were closed, and his head was tilted up. It looked like he was praying. The sword cast an eerie blue glow across his face, making him appear pale and lifeless. Rather than take away from his beauty, the glow amplified it. Castiel looked surreal, untainted, holy. He'd never seen Cas look so glorious. It was almost enough to make him believe in God. Almost.

Two hours later the chanting stopped. The sword was still suspended in the air, and Cas remained concentrating beneath it. The blue aura calmed slightly, but still rocked back and forth like water that had been disturbed.

It was getting late, and so, leaving the angel to his task Sam and Dean put their weapons away and went to sleep.

When they awoke the following morning, Castiel was in the same position; he hadn't moved all night. The aura was darker now, calmer.

Dean's stomach growled loudly. He grinned sheepishly at his brother, and the two dressed and headed into town for food. Dean avoided the diner from the previous day, he didn't want to run into that blue eyed waitress, instead he zeroed in on a small ma' and pop place near the motel.

The selection was limited, but the food they ordered was delicious. When the waitress returned to see how they were doing, Dean grinned cheerfully and asked about the pie.

"Really Dean? For breakfast?"

"Sam, there is always time for pie. Pie doesn't discriminate, it loves all meals equally."

"…You did not just say that."

"Believe it Sammy baby."

The waitress was grinning broadly. "Well, we've got apple, cherry, pumpkin and key lime pie."

Dean grinned, "Cherry? See Sam, God is practically telling me to get pie, He is forcing my hand." He turned to the waitress, "Two slices of cherry please."

"How are we even related? That's it, I want a blood test."

Dean looked seriously at his brother, "It wouldn't work. I _bleed_ pie." He looked at his arms, "Delicious, delicious pie…" He licked himself, and his eyes rolled back, "Mm! So good!"

Sam buried his face in his hands and pretended to cry in frustration.

The waitress returned, and set two steaming plates before them. Dean eagerly grabbed a fork and dug in, flakes of crust dotting his shirt and cherry juice smearing across his lips. He groaned, "OH! Oh God it's just, mm!"

Sam, who had been poking at his serving, wondering how the _hell _anyone ate _pie _for breakfast, suddenly pushed the plate away in disgust. "Dean, do you two need a room?"

Dean looked sadly at his empty plate. "Too late."

Sam rolled his eyes and handed Dean his slice of pie. Dean looked seriously into his brothers eyes. "Sammy, I love you."

Sam hid a grin behind his hand as Dean tucked in.

As soon as Dean had finished the waitress appeared with their check. Sam dropped a few bills onto table and paid at the front.

When they returned to the motel, Dean paused at the door. "Hey Sam, how much longer is he going to be doing that whole…blessing…thing?"

Sam looked at his watch, "Well, he said it would take twenty four hours, so I'd imagine…he'll be at it until about eight, maybe nine."

"Well that's great. What are we supposed to do 'till then?"

"Just wait I guess."

Dean sighed and opened the door. "Honey, I'm home!"

Castiel didn't show any indication he'd heard the hunter. Dean was a little disappointed.

Sam dumped his keys on the table and shrugged off his jacket as Dean approached the angel, sitting down in front of him. He peered closely at the sword; the aura had left the blade a dark midnight blue, and deep engravings covered every available surface.

He shook his head and murmured, "Cas, what are you doing…" He looked up and jumped, Castiel was staring directly at him. "Hey Cas." The angel didn't answer. Dean leaned in closer, and noticed a distinctly glazed look in the other mans eyes. Cas was not entirely there at the moment.

Dean sighed, closed his eyes and closed the distance between them, touching their foreheads together.

He heard something.

Dean opened his eyes; Cas's eyes still stared sightlessly, the sword hung between them, undisturbed.

Dean leaned back. Silence.

Once again he pressed his head against the angel. There it was! Like… many voices whispering. Weird.

Dean sat back and looked around. Sam was sitting at his computer; he had a mug of something…smelled like chocolate. He seemed to be hiding a smile. Dean glared, Sam grinned wider.

"Dude, shut up."

"Whatever you say Dean."

Dean pulled out his cell phone and checked the time, yeah, they had a lot of time to kill. He studied Castiel; his eyes had slipped closed again.

Dean felt a tug in his chest. He really didn't want to move. So he did the only logical thing. He got comfortable and touched his head to the angels. If anyone asked… he was trying to make out the whispers. Yeah, that sounded good.

He listened. There was a variety of tonal qualities; it sounded like hundreds of men, women and children were having a multitude of conversations, so many that no individual voice could be easily identified or followed. Maybe that was the point. Dean tried anyway.

He lost track of how much time he spent there leaning against the angel, but when pressure in his bladder finally made him lean back the sky was dark and Sam had turned on the lights inside.

Dean stood, stretched and headed into the bathroom.

When he came out he noticed Sam had gone out and grabbed food. Man, had he really been that out of it? He strolled over to the table and grabbed a burger from the brown bag. A _bacon_ cheeseburger? "Aww Sammy, I didn't know you cared!"

"Shut up."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Dean bit into the burger, it was still warm! He grinned. "So whatcha doin?"

Sam rubbed a hand through his hair roughly. "I was just trying to find something that can help us tomorrow. Some way we can help." He sighed and looked over at Cas, "I know you really care about him…I do too, and I'm just feeling…a little useless right now, you know? This whole plan banks on Cas doing this big thing by himself, and we're just going to watch as he gets torn apart. I don't like it."

Dean nodded, "I don't like it either. But he promised not to die. And if he does, we'll find a way to get him back and we'll kick his ass."

Sam smiled, "Good."

They heard a shuffle and whipped around. Cas slowly got to his feet, "It's done."

He backed away from the weapon which now lay on the floor. Sam and Dean approached cautiously.

Dean reached out a hand, "So… can we not touch it as in, contamination, or as in –" A sharp pain ran across his hand, he hissed and pulled back sharply. "Well I suppose that answers that question. So Cas, moment of truth, can you touch it?"

Cas took a deep breath and reached out, slowly his hand closed around the hilt. He lifted it, "I can." They all breathed easier.

Dean grinned playfully, "Told ya you'd be pure enough."

Cas graced him with a soft smile.

"Alright," Sam walked forward and gripped Castiel's shoulder tightly, "I don't know about you two but I've got stuff to do… I'm gonna go see if I can grab another room." He winked broadly at Dean, grabbed a small bag and shut the door firmly behind him.

Dean shook his head, bemused. He turned to find Cas watching him.

The moment stretched. Finally Dean caved. He'd already kissed the guy, what three, four times now? Cas kept coming back. He decided to go for it. But first he needed to know a few things.

"Uh, Cas? Um… You know how I feel about you, right?" In an odd moment of shyness, Dean looked away. When he finally managed to look back at the angel, he had moved, and now stood mere inches away. Castiel leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Deans lips.

Dean grabbed hold of the angels trench coat, and held him an arms length away. Hurt flashed across Castiel's eyes. Dean quickly pulled the Cas into a tight hug, "No, no, no, no, that's not what I meant Cas. I just need to know…"

He pushed the angel away again, just far enough to be able to look closely into his eyes.

"I need to know if this is going to screw up your… purity thing. You've already given up a lot for me, and I wont let you lose any more."

"Dean," Castiel's serious expression was ruined by the lightness of his eyes, "There is nothing you could do that would ruin that."

It was Dean's turn to be confused, "Really? How is that possible?"

"Because I…" Castiel trailed off, and looked away. A light blush colored his cheeks.

Dean pulled Cas sharply to him, and kissed him harshly. "Me too."

He claimed the angels mouth again, the force of the kiss hard enough to cause Cas to stumble back until he encountered the wall. Dean took his time exploring Castiel's mouth, dueling with his tongue, memorizing his taste. Gradually the intensity lessened, and the kiss turned gentle. Dean slipped his hands inside Castiel's jacket and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. He moved away from the angel's mouth, trailing kisses along his jaw and down his neck, pausing to suck and bite at his pulse point.

Cas let out a breath, "You seem to enjoy pinning me against walls."

Dean gave this due consideration, "Yes. Yes I do."

Finally the shirt was undone; Dean sipped his hands inside and ran them down the angels arms and along his back, causing the clothing to fall to the floor. Cas stood before the hunter half naked. Dean grinned, "Much better."

Much as Dean would love to make a few dreams come true and continue this against the wall, he wanted Castiel's first time to be as memorable as possible, which meant putting Cas first, and the angel would probably prefer a bed; this time anyway. He pulled Castiel close to him and turned them around.

Dean started walking slowly forward, guiding Cas back, all the while his mouth remained busy sucking bruises on to the angels neck and shoulders, his hands busy undoing his belt, tugging down his pants. When Cas's knees hit the bed he pushed Dean away.

Dean was panting, "What?"

Cas blushed and ran a hand through his hair, "There's uh…something I'd like to try…"

Dean smiled encouragingly.

Cas blushed harder and slowly sank to his knees.

No _way_.

Castiel unbuttoned Dean's jeans, pulled down the fly, and freed the hunter from the confines of his clothing. He gripped Dean at the base and flicked out a tongue to taste the head. Dean groaned and ran a hand through his angel's hair. Cas took this as encouragement and began to suckle gently, bobbing his head, setting a slow rhythm. Dean lost himself in the sensations, it may not have been the most skilled blow job he'd ever had, but man, it was the best.

Dean felt pressure building and gripped his angels hair, stilling his movement. He grabbed Castiel by the shoulders and helped him to his feet.

Cas seemed confused, "Did I do something wrong?"

Dean silenced him with a kiss, kicked off his pants, pulled off his shirt and pushed Castiel onto the bed, moving to straddle his hips. He kissed Cas again and smiled, "No…"

He kissed down his angels neck, across his chest and nipped at his hips. He settled himself between Cas's thighs and looked deep into his eyes for permission. He found it.

Dean reached over to the bedside table and fumbled for lube he'd been keeping there; just in case of course.

He took his time preparing the angel, he'd never really _done_ this before, but he knew the basics, just as he knew that this was probably not going to be completely pain free for Cas.

When he was completely convinced Castiel was ready, and the angel was writhing beneath him, Dean began to push forward slowly. When he was completely sheathed within him, Dean paused. Castiel was gripping the sheets tightly, his eyes clenched shut. Dean peppered kisses across his face, and ran his hands soothingly down the angel's arms and chest. Gradually Cas relaxed, and when he opened his eyes Dean started to move.

Dean thrust slowly at first, but when Cas wrapped his legs around the hunters waist and growled lowly he gave up all pretense of gentleness and began thrusting in earnest, loving all the noises he managed to drag out of the angel.

Soon, too soon in Dean's opinion, he felt that familiar pressure begin to build. Dean reached between them and gripped Castiel tightly, earning a strangled shout. Dean's hand moved in time with his thrusts, and soon Cas was coming, eyes blown wide, mouth open in a soundless cry. Dean could feel his own end upon him, and thrust faster, before gripping Castiel's hips hard enough that it would have left bruises on anyone else, and riding it out.

Breathing hard and completely spent, Dean gathered the angel in his arms and tugged a blanket over them; he knew Cas didn't need to sleep, but he hoped he'd still be there in the morning.

Dean kissed the angel languidly one final time before falling into a dreamless slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: Terribly sorry about the wait on this one, I kept writing it out on separate bits of paper and neglecting to put them all together. Anyway, I hope you like it.

---------

The next morning Dean awoke feeling warm and content. He looked down and blue eyes locked with his.

Realizing Dean was awake Cas moved to get up. Dean gripped the angel's waist tightly and pulled him back down, tucking his head into Castiel's neck.

He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Five more minutes."

Castiel smiled and allowed himself to settle against the hunter.

_Ten_ minutes later Cas heard a key turn in the lock and Sam entered the room.

A light blush colored his cheeks as he took in the clothing scattered about, the disheveled sheets, and the two obviously naked men lying beneath them.

Cas carefully propped himself up and slipped out of the confines of the bed. Sam squeaked and whipped around to face the door.

"Jesus Cas, clothes!" He sneaked a peek back and saw Cas completely dressed, even wearing the trench coat. Sam was stunned, "Wow. Okay that was cool."

He looked back to the bed and noticed Dean was trying to go back to sleep.

"Come on Dean, get up!"

Dean groaned, "Bitch."

"Jerk, now up."

Dean swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, not bothering to hide his state of undress.

Sam turned red and squeezed his eyes shut, "Dean our lives our lives are fucked up enough without you flashing me."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Nothing you haven't seen before." He turned to find Cas eyeing him appreciatively. Dean winked and pulled on his boxers before setting out around the room for the rest of his clothing. When he was fully dressed he stepped in front of Sam "Happy?"

Sam rolled his eyes and he started packing up the room.

Dean wandered over to Castiel, grabbed the angels tie and gently tugged him into a kiss. Cas moaned lowly and parted his lips, tongue darting out to duel with Deans. The kiss lasted for a long moment before Sam was clearing his throat.

They parted slowly. Dean blinked owlishly and took a few steps back. Kissing the angel always made him lose track of things. "Right, uh, ready to go Sammy?"

Sam tossed Dean a duffle bag and passed another to Castiel. While they loaded the Impala Sam went to the front and checked them out.

Dean slid into the drivers seat, Sam into shotgun, and Cas took over the back.

"Alright, where we headed?"

"Colorado."

They drove for six hours, Cas giving directions as they were needed. Finally the car came over a rise and they saw it.

Dean pulled the Impala off the road the road and the three men looked over the future battlefield.

It was a wide open plane, flanked on one end by a small, cozy looking town, and on the other side by a thick grove of trees.

"So this is where it's going to happen, huh?"

Cas nodded.

"Are the angels here?"

Castiel swept his eyes across the expanse before them, settling on a spot above tree line. "Yes, they have assembled."

Dean sighed, "Okay, lets get you set up then."

As Castiel strapped the sword to his waist Sam held out Ruby's knife, hilt first. "Be safe out there." Sam hesitated for a moment, and then pulled the smaller man into a massive hug. He didn't care what Dean or Castiel said; this was insane. "Good luck." Sam released him.

Cas smiled softly and tucked the knife into his belt. "Thank you Sam."

He turned to find Dean eyeing him critically. The hunter fixed his tie, and then grabbed the lapels of the angels coat. "Should you really be wearing this Cas?"

Castiel looked down at himself, "What is the problem with my coat? I always wear my coat."

"Yeah, but this thing is huge; I could fit two of you in here. It might get in the way."

"I will be fine Dean."

"You better be." Dean took a step forward and pressed a chaste kiss to the angels lips. "Come back."

"I will."

Cas took two steps towards the field and disappeared. Suddenly he was standing in the center, facing the town. He remained there motionless.

Sam hopped up on the trunk of the Impala, and Dean vanished inside the car for a moment before emerging with two pairs of binoculars. He passed one to Sam and jumped up beside him.

Sam sighed, looking at his binoculars. Then he resolved himself and raised them to his eyes, "Cas will be fine.

Dean paused and then raised his pair, "Of course he will."

----------

The angels had gathered above an open field. The ranks stood intangible and silent as they waited for their general to arrive.

They could see the whole town from this vantage point; the citizens were gradually being taken over, and a once peaceful place was being overrun with crime and violence.

It was sick. The angels gripped their weapons tightly in anticipation of the divine justice that was to be brought down upon this town.

Then he arrived.

Every angel in the Garrison recognized Castiel; Zachariah had made an example of him, impressing upon every angel in Heaven that even the most devout could Fall.

Castiel had asked questions, Castiel had allowed doubt to cloud his mind, Castiel had defied orders, but worst of all, Castiel had put a _human_ before _God_.

But what was he doing here?

He was here to join with the demons in the stand against Heaven; that had to be it. Why else would the Fallen angel be here?

Castiel stood before the town, waiting for his demon brethren to join him in the first assault.

Some of the angels looked around at their brothers. They all felt the unasked question, should they smite him? After they defeated Lucifer, Castiel would be the next Adversary, and they could easily strike him down now.

No, they all felt the unspoken answer, Castiel had Fallen for breaking orders. They would not repeat his mistakes. The Uppers said to wait, so they would wait. They would smite him along with the rest of the demon scum when the time came.

There was movement in the town, and the demons emerged. Right now they estimated roughly fifty demons infested the town.

Castiel pulled something out from under his trench coat…was that a sword? That wouldn't work against _angels_…

And suddenly, the fight began.

----------

Castiel moved with a graceful efficiency. The sword moved through the bodies of his opponents, dead remains falling around his feet. And then he sensed it! The knife was here!

His eyes sought out the source, but all he saw were black eyed humans clawing at him. He dodged a demon that came at him with an ice pick, burying Ruby's knife in his stomach, removing it quickly and slitting the throat of the demon behind him. His sword came down and buried itself deeply within another. He kicked the body off the end of his weapon and quickly raised it again.

He felt something sharp enter his body and turned, unmindful of the blade twisting within him, killing the demon. This was not the first wound he'd earned thus far, and he quickly put the pain from his mind.

Despite Castiel's fast movements, he still collected many wounds. Knives and bullets tore through his vessels body, and while he healed quicker than a human would, the more wounds he received the slower they healed. Soon his shirt was stained completely red, and his jacket was riddled with holes. He could feel his vessels body weakening, and he refocused all of his attention on the fight, not letting himself dwell on it.

Castiel tried to zero in on the demon with the knife but there were too many, and more kept coming. He resolved to find the weapon when he had finished dispatching the demons, and moved viciously against the ever growing mob.

----------

The angels were stunned. What in the name of _Heaven_ was going on?

Castiel was supposed to be … well, evil, wasn't he? He certainly wasn't an agent of Heaven so that made him an…well, an agent Hell didn't it? He had lost his _Grace_ there was nothing forcing him to be good anymore!

But here he was. Killing demons.

The angels watched, in awed, confused silence.

----------

"Oh my God, are you seeing this?" Sam lowered his binoculars slightly before catching himself and finding the trench coat clad man again.

Dean shook his head, "He really is a warrior of God…"

Watching the fight was setting their nerves on edge, Cas kept being overcome by demons, then he would hack his way out of the fray before being overcome again. It was disorienting.

Despite their initial misgivings, the boys had to admit, it looked like Cas was going to pull it off, the little man just wouldn't go down. The sword flashed again and again as it caught the light of the sun rising with the passage of time. The mob surrounding the angel was starting to dwindle, and soon the last of the demon horde were throwing themselves bodily against the angel, and were just as quickly knocked down.

Once more, Castiel stood before the town, motionless. The sword was held, lowered, dripping with blood, and the knife was still clenched in his fist.

Sam and Dean watched him stand like this for a minute, before they were running down the field towards him.

As they got closer to the angel, they had to slow down to step over bodies, and soon they were standing beside him. The angel did not look up at them, he just breathed.

"Cas?" Dean reached out and touched the angels chin, gently lifting until he could see Castiel's eyes; they were unfocused. He swayed.

Sam and Dean immediately leapt to the angels side, Sam wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Dean wrapping one around his waist. Cas sagged gratefully as they bore his weight for him. Slowly Sam reached out and took Ruby's knife, bending down momentarily to clean it on a fallen demons shirt before he tucked it into his belt, while Dean grabbed Castiel's hand, using it to help secure the sword once more to the angel's waist.

Dean slowly pushed aside Castiel's trench coat, revealing his blood stained torso. The brothers noted that almost all of the blood was his own.

"Dean, why isn't he healing?"

"…I don't know Sammy. Let's get him back to the Impala and get him patched up."

Suddenly Cas jerked upright and took a faltering step forward.

"Woah Cas, slow down."

"We need to retrieve the knife."

Sam and Dean looked at the field of dead bodies.

"Yeah," Dean began slowly, "about that…"

"Follow me," Cas moved forward, Sam and Dean instantly providing support.

"Come on Cas," Sam tightened his grip, "Take it easy."

"I am taking it easy Sam," the angel panted, "It's over here."

The gradually moved through the mess, Sam looked worriedly at Dean; Cas was breathing harshly, and his head kept dipping. Dean caught Sam's eye and nodded.

Castiel stopped over a man wearing a plaid shirt and acid washed jeans, his throat had been slit and blood covered his lips.

"I got him," Sam pulled Castiel closer to him, supporting him fully as Dean searched the body. He found a knife that was about eight inches long, and had a fully black blade with Enochian etches.

"This is it huh?"

Castiel nodded, "That is the knife that will kill Lucifer."

Dean grinned at Sam and tucked the knife into his belt.

"Let's get him out of here."

Dean once more wrapped his arm around the angels waist and together the brothers guided him to the Impala. When they were a few feet away, Cas lost consciousness. Sam picked the angel up and Dean opened the back door, climbing in to take Castiel from his brother. Sam started up the car and headed off quickly to a motel as Dean cradled the angel to his chest, applying pressure to stop the bleeding some of his larger wounds.

----------

The angels were mystified…the fight was….over, and Castiel had _won._

He stood in the field, unmoving, and the angels didn't know what to do, or how to feel. They were sure their general was going to be _pissed_.

Suddenly two humans were running towards him. Were they demons too? No, no, now they could see. The Winchesters. They watched as Lucifer's vessel wrapped an arm around their Fallen brothers shoulders and as Michael's vessel wrapped an arm around his waist. The vessels walked with Castiel to a fallen demon and…

And they retrieved the knife.

Why was Castiel giving them the knife? They could use it to kill him; it didn't make any sense. Didn't he realize the hunters would likely hunt _him_ as soon as Lucifer had been defeated?

The three made their way from the field, got in a black vehicle and drove away.

The angels remained, waiting.

----------

"He's still bleeding Sammy…should we try to sew him up?"

Sam looked at his brother in the rearview mirror, "I don't know Dean, he's going to start healing eventually-"

"-We hope-"

"He's _going_ to start healing eventually, and then he'll have needless rows of stitching in him. Maybe we should just wrap him up good and tight."

Dean nodded jerkily, he moved the angel so he lay flat on the seat and set about removing his trench, suite coat and button down…well, what was left of them. He reached into a bag at his feet and found a clean towel, and began to clean off the blood covering Cas's chest, then pressed gauze firmly over wounds and secured it with medical tape.

"I don't think we're going to have enough bandages Sammy."

"Wrap the big things, we'll drop him off at the motel and go raid a store."

Dean identified the three largest wounds on his friend. There was one large puncture wound in his shoulder that looked like someone had put a hook through him, one gash on his back that look like someone had stuck him with a knife and then _twisted, _and a cut that ran from his naval to the base of his rib cage. Dean quickly bound the wounds and then moved to cradle the angel once more.

Castiel was still pale and breathing shallowly.

"Hurry up Sam."


	5. Chapter 5

By the time they made it to the next town over Cas had healed most of the smaller wounds, but still bleed sluggishly from far too many in Deans opinion. Strengthening his fear was the fact that Castiel remained unconscious.

Sam pulled into the first motel they came across. "I'll go get the keys." He jumped out of the car and ran the few feet to the main office.

"Okay Cas, let's get you up." Dean grunted, reaching behind himself and fumbling with the handle. He stepped out of the car and dragged Castiel towards him, and then, mindful of his injuries, wrapped an arm around his chest and lifted. Cas came easily, his head falling back onto Dean's shoulder.

"That's good Cas, good." As Dean nudged the door closed, Sam came running back waving the keys, and together they carried the angel into the room.

They carefully arranged Castiel on the bed and took a step back to admire their handiwork. Sam crossed his arms and shifted his weight, "There's a Walgreens right on the corner we could raid."

Dean nodded, "That's good, I'll go there and grab some stuff, and you go to that diner across the street and grab some food, kay?"

If Sam was surprised by this request he didn't show it and in one move they turned and exited, heading in different directions.

Dean walked into the store and homed in on the pharmacy. He grabbed gauze, medical tape and bandages, and then browsed through the pain killers, finally settling on Ibuprofen. He moved as fast as he could up to the counter, not wanting to arouse suspicion by running, and handed the cashier his items. Once he paid, he all but ran back to the room.

As he fumbled for the keys Sam joined him. Dean paused, "Damn Sammy, that was fast."

Sam smirked, "I could say the same to you."

Dean chuckled as he opened the door, "Did you get the pie?"

"Wha- Dean! Don't you think we have more important things to worry about than pie?"

"…No?"

"Dean! Anyway, no, I was trying to be…you know, fast, and they didn't have any pie already made."

As Dean caught site of his angel on the bed, still and pale, he had to agree Sam had a point.

"Alright, let's do this, but when Cas wakes up if he wants pie too, you are so going to regret this."

They both moved to the bed. Dean sat behind Castiel, wrapping his arms around the angel and cradling him against his chest. Sam knelt in front of Cas, and reached out to unwind the blood soaked bandages.

The wounds looked much better; Sam had been right about the stitches, they would have just gotten in the way.

The brothers worked together, alternating between holding Castiel up and rotating him to get better access to his injuries. When they finally had him wrapped up tight Dean carefully arranged him on the bed and joined Sam at the table.

They were exhausted, and spent a moment just breathing. Dean's stomach growled loudly spoiling the moment. He grinned sheepishly as Sam handed him the bag full of food. Dean reached in and pulled out a bacon cheeseburger. "Aw Sammy, how sweet. Doesn't make up for the pie though."

Sam rolled his eyes, snatching the bag back and pulled out a salad.

They ate in silence; it had been a long day and they were feeling it. When they were done Dean sighed, "Well Sammy, I'm turning in."

"Right behind you."

They took turns in the bathroom, then Sam crawled into his bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Dean moved to his, settling closely to Castiel. For a long moment he watched the angel's chest rise and fall, taking comfort in the display of life.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but a shaft of light striking his eyes roused him the following morning. He groaned, stretching and nuzzling into the warmth surrounding him. Arms were wrapped tightly around him holding him close, and he could hear a steady heart beat coming from the chest below him.

Wait a second…

Dean pushed himself up and was greeted by a pair of large blue eyes.

"Good morning Dean."

Dean kissed Castiel desperately, his hands moving to grip the angel's hair tightly. He had to break for air and then attacked Castiel's mouth once more, moving to straddle the angel. They parted, gasping, Casitel's lips red and swollen.

"Dean." Cas groaned, as he moved to claim the hunters lips again.

Dean ran his hands up Castiel's sides and the angel arched underneath him. Dean broke the kiss and began to lick and bite Castiel's jaw and down his neck.

A soft noise on the other side of the room reminded Dean that they weren't alone, and he sat back, tugging Castiel's head forward and tucking it underneath his chin. He wrapped one arm around his shoulders and carded a hand through his hair. Castiel's arms came up to hold onto Dean.

They sat wrapped up in one another for a long moment. And then suddenly Dean _remembers_.

He pushed Castiel down sharply, and fumbled for the bandages on his chest, pulling them off haphazardly. When they were finally gone, Dean breathed a sigh of relief. Castiel was completely unmarred. He ran his hands down the smooth planes of the angels chest, fingers carefully searching where the gaping wounds had been, and finding nothing.

Dean moved to kiss Castiel again, this time slowly and carefully, memorizing his taste, his feel, his everything.

"Cas, don't ever scare me like that again."

"I will try Dean."

Dean nodded, pressing his forehead to Castiel's. Once again he heard a small sound. He looked over at Sam and grinned. He winked at Cas and grabbed a pillow. Cas placed a hand on Dean's arm. "Dean."

Dean sighed, "Alright." He dropped the pillow. Cas began to sit up and suddenly found Dean pushing him back into the bed. "Oh no, not yet." He wrapped his hands around Castiel's neck and pet down across his shoulders, down his sternum, across his ribs, down his sides, and back up his stomach. Cas writhed beneath him, his head thrown back, fingers tangling in the sheets, soft noises encouraging Dean.

As he continued his ministrations, he pressed a kiss to Castiel's chin and bit lightly on his pulse point, "Now now Cas. Don't want to wake Sam do you?" He began to bite and suck at the angels throat, earning him a sharp gasp and a throaty moan.

"Dean."

"Yeah baby?"

"Oh God no, my _eyes_."

"Oh." Dean sat up, "Good morning Sam!"

Beneath him Cas struggled to catch his breath.

"Come on Dean, he just recovered and already you're jumping him?"

Dean frowned, "It wasn't like that Sam! I was totally prepared to bring on a vicious pillow based assault and Cas thought we should let you sleep. I had to distract myself _somehow_. Really, if you think about it, it was all Cas's fault." He glared at Cas, before stealing another kiss.

Sam sat up, burying his face in his hands, "Next time Dean, just kill me."

"Consider it payback for the pie, bitch."

"Jerk. Ah, oh well, time to get up anyway I guess. Gotta try to find Lucifer."

"Wow Sam, its like, seven in the morning and already you're a buzz kill. That's gotta be a record."

Sam grunted something and stumbled into the bathroom. Dean turned his attention back to the angel beneath him.

Castiel gasped as Dean's tongue found his ear, "Dean,"

"Uh."

"Dean."

"Mm."

"Dean!"

"What?"

"I believe you should get up."

"Get u – damn it Cas you're starting to sound like Sam. Now sit still."

Dean reached for the angel. Castiel ducked his arm and squirmed out of the bed, putting as much distance between himself and the hunter as he could.

"Cas…"

"No Dean."

Dean leapt for him and found Castiel just out of range.

For every move, Castiel countered, and after a moment Dean had a plan and was trying to gradually work Cas into a corner. Everything seemed to be going in his favor, and soon he knew he would have Castiel pinned. And then a door opened and Sam was standing in front of him. He had a momentary lapse of confusion and looked up to see Castiel standing just off to the side. Cas gripped his arm tight and pushed him into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Dean looked around. How had he ended up all alone in here? Grumbling softly about angels being mean and playing dirty Dean finally gave in and began cleaning himself up.

When he exited he found Sam and Cas sitting at the table. Sam was munching on a piece of toast, and a bowl of cereal sat out for him.

"Where'd we get the food?"

"Cas zapped out and got it."

Dean smirked at Castiel, and ruffled the angels hair before sitting down, "Why Cas, how domestic of you."

Castiel glared at him.

Dean chuckled and leaned back in his chair. Sam was reading a newspaper he got from who knows where while he ate, and Castiel sat quietly looking out the window. Both were bathed in the sunlight filtering in from the window. It was calm and peaceful. It was perfect. He could almost pretend they were a normal family.

"Dean?" Castiel was watching him questioningly.

"What is it Cas?"

"Why arnt you eating?"

…Oh. Right. Food.

Castiel looked at him all wide eyes and innocence, "You do not like it?"

Dean picked up his spoon and took a big bite, "Its fine Cas."

Sam rolled his eyes dramatically over his paper.

Cas tilted his head in confusion.

Sam smiled and winked. Dean kicked him under the table, and Sam laughed.

Dean returned his attention to his cereal, "Anything interesting in that paper Sam?"

Sam sighed, "Uh, there's a few disappearances, a murder and a bear attack. None of them look like our kind of case." He closed his paper and folded his hands. For a moment he just looked at them. "I think we should go see Bobby. We need to figure out a way to find Lucifer before he realizes what we've got."

Dean nodded and drank the milk out of his bowl. He licked his lips and placed a hand on Castiel's arm. "Thanks for the breakfast Cas. Sam? Lets pack up."

They moved around the room with a practiced ease, and in five minutes were ready to hit the road.

As Dean packed the last of their bags into the Impala Sam approached Cas. "So what d'ya think? Do you want to ride with us or meet us there?"

Castiel looked at Sam questioningly, "Which would you prefer?"

Sam grinned, "You should come with us. I know its…slow and cramped, but –"

Dean sauntered over and draped an arm across Sam's shoulders, "What my little sister is saying, is that she _worries _about you. Isn't that right Samantha?"

Sam huffed, shoving Dean off, "Yeah, like you don't." He grinned smugly, "But if you don't want him to come –"

"I never said I didn't want him to come!"

"Great let's get going then." Sam looked triumphant and wrapped an arm around Castiel, leading him to the car. Dean hesitated; he was sure Sam had just gotten away with something but he couldn't figure out what. He shook his head and followed.

----------

Bobby rolled into the living room with three large books on his lap, "If you idjits are set on tracking down the devil, then you're helpin' with the readin'." He handed a thick book to Sam, a thicker one to Castiel, and passed by Dean completely.

Dean stared at his empty hands, "Um…"

"You need to get on the computer and search for signs or omens that might signal some major evil in town." Dean nodded and left the room to get Sam's computer. He came back and settled against Cas.

"Dude, why are you using my computer? Why not use _yours_?"

Dean grinned and shrugged, "Deal with it bitch."

Sam shook his head, blew some dust off the cover of his book, "Jerk." He joined Bobby at a table. "So…what exactly are we looking for?"

"Different creatures leave different signs, so I imagine Lucifer will leave his own kind of signs. We just need to know what to look for; these books should help."

Dean typed in Sam's password. "So if I don't know what signs I'm looking for, how am I helping?"

Bobby rolled his eyes, "Just look for signs boy, we'll narrow them down as we find out exactly what we're looking for."

Time dragged by slowly, and soon three hours had gone by without any luck.

Sam let out a frustrated breath, "This isn't working."

Dean murmured his agreement, "I think if Lucy wants to stay hidden he's going to stay hidden."

Sam looked thoughtful, "What we need is a way to bring him to us."

There was a moment of silence.

"Don't even think about it Sam."

"I think it's our only chance Dean."

"I don't care. No."

"What are you idjits going on about?"

Dean glared at his brother, "Sammy wants to be bait. It's not going to happen Sam."

"I don't know Dean…"

"Bobby, no! The last thing we need is to drop Sam right into Lucifer's lap!"

"Sam may be right Dean." Castiel said slowly.

"No Cas, not you too!"

Castiel looked at Dean seriously, "The Enochian sigils I carved into your ribs will make you invisible to Lucifer. We can lure him in and then set a trap."

Sam nodded, "We just have to find a demon, tell him I want to say yes and have him tell Lucifer where we'll be."

Dean considered this, and slowly started to shake his head.

Sam glared, "Dean, we're doing this."

"Sam, this whole plan hinges on us setting a _trap_ for _Lucifer_. How the Hell are we going to do that?"

Bobby turned to Castiel, "Would holy oil work against him? He is an angel after all."

Cas frowned, "I don't know if it will. We thought the Colt would work and it failed, I'm not sure if the oil would be any different."

Sam nodded, "We should lay some down just in case though."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Great, we're going in with a plan that might not work. Yeah, this is brilliant."

"Fine. Then…I'll distract him. I'll pretend to be interested and then you can sneak up and gut him."

"No Sam, you're not having a face to face with Lucy."

"Damn it Dean then – "

"I will distract him." Castiel interrupted.

He was greeted by silence.

Sam nodded, "This could work."

Dean sighed, "It better."


	6. Chapter 6

The plan was simple. All they needed was a location.

Sam and Castiel had spent a good five hours pouring over omens and signs, looking for a demon infestation they could use to their advantage. Around midnight Dean had given up.

Tossing aside his laptop he stood, ruffled his brothers hair and headed for the stairs. "Dude, if you're not going to bed, I'm so taking the bedroom."

Sam waved a hand dismissively, his attention never leaving his laptop. "Whatever. Fine. Goodnight."

Dean was almost disappointed Sam had given in without a fight.

The stairs creaked softly under his footsteps, and at the top he took a left and found himself in the guest room. He tugged his shirt over his head and kicked off his jeans, and crawled into the bed. Dean burrowed into the blankets, and after he got comfortable he turned to watch the moonlight play against the ceiling. About five minutes later, the door opened softly and a dark shape entered the room.

"Giving up so soon?"

There was a pause.

"Damn it Cas, come here."

Castiel moved towards the bed.

Dean groaned, "Wait." He rolled over, and, sitting up, pulled the angel to stand between his legs. Dean pushed the trench coat and jacket off his shoulders, and unbuttoned the white shirt. He helped Cas remove his shoes, then pushed his pants down and off. "Baby, remind me to get you some pj's or something."

Castiel looked down at his unclothed body curiously, "What is wrong with my current attire?"

Dean chuckled and pulled Castiel onto the bed, "Tell me honestly, if I hadn't undressed you, would you have just climbed in?"

The angel hesitated.

"Yeah, I figured. We need to get you something comfortable to wear at night. Easily removable of course, but comfortable."

Dean pushed Cas back to lay on his side and sidled up behind him, wrapping an arm loosely around his waist. "Good night Cas."

"Good night Dean."

* * *

The next morning Dean awoke alone. He frowned and looked around for his angel. "Cas?" He listened, and could make out voices downstairs. He dressed haphazardly, and made his way towards the door.

Downstairs Cas and Sam were arguing. Dean laughed, and headed towards the fridge, grabbing a bottle of orange juice. After a few minutes the voices stopped, Sam headed upstairs and Castiel joined him at the table. He looked seriously at Dean. "Sam has instructed me to inform you that we will be leaving shortly."

"What?"

Sam walked through the kitchen. "He said we're leaving, jerk. Go pack up your stuff." Sam threw some bags in the car, and then headed back inside. "Come on, let's hit the road!" He handed a bag to Castiel. "Could you put this in the trunk, please? Thank you."

Dean moved to make himself comfortable on the couch.

Sam paused in the doorway. "What the – Dean! We don't have time for this!"

"Make time. I'm not moving until we hash out this plan!"

Sam sat next to him, begrudgingly. "What, exactly, do we need to go over?"

"Hmm. Let me think. The fact that this plan _sucks._"

"Okay, first we're going to find a warehouse, one filled with boxes and dark places to hide, and we'll lay down some holy oil. Then we'll find a crossroads demon –"

"If one will even talk to us."

"Oh, it'll talk. We'll get it to tell Lucifer where we're hiding. Lucifer will show up –"

"And kill us."

"No! We're going to be hiding, so Lucifer will think he's all alone."

"And automatically suspect a trap."

Sam smiled demonically. "Exactly."

* * *

The warehouse was very easy to find.

It was filled with old wooden crates that would provide a perfect place to hide.

Dean disabled some lights to cast deep shadows across the majority of the space; only the center was brightly lit. They laid down two large circles of oil. Dean looked at his angel seriously. "Remember where these are. We don't want _you _to get caught by one."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "That would kill the plan."

"I will strive to avoid it."

"Alright." Dean cleaned his hands on his pants. "I think this is good. Time to go find a demon." He tossed Sam the keys to the Impala

Sam caught them easily. "You find a good place to hide, I'll be right back."

* * *

Sam drove for an hour, leaving the city limits, and finding a crossroad. He prepared a box and buried it. He waited for twenty minutes until a very attractive woman appeared.

"Well, well, well. Little Sammy Winchester. What could you _possibly_ want?"

Sam smirked. "I want to say yes to your boss."

"You…you what?"

"You heard me."

Her eyes widened.

"I want you to go tell your boss to meet me here." He handed her a piece of paper. "I have a few conditions we need to discuss."

With that he turned, got in his car and left, the demon watching in shock as he sped away.

When Sam arrived back at the warehouse, it was deserted. "Uh…guys?" Sam looked around closely, moved behind boxes, in and out of pathways, but he found nothing. Finally he gave up, and walked into center of the room. "Come on, it's not funny." He turned around and saw Dean's smiling face. "Oh yeah. There's some good hiding places here."

Sam rolled his eyes and walked over to his brother. "Where the Hell were you hiding? I totally checked over here."

Dean grinned. "Let me show you."

* * *

They weren't hiding for long before the doors flew open. Sam and Dean could see everything from where they were hiding. Castiel was watching from his hiding place a few feet away.

Lucifer looked all around him as he stepped into the center of the room. He sighed, "Really, Sam? Still hiding from me?" He frowned looking for any hints. Gradually a smile formed. "Well. Hello brother." He held out a hand.

Castiel's eyes widened. Alarmed, Dean turned to look at Cas's hiding place. His eyes were screwed shut, he was clearly in pain. "Cas?" He whispered.

Lucifer laughed and gestured sharply. Castiel appeared before him. "Nice to see you."

Castiel glowered, "Lucifer."

"My, my. I wish I could say I was surprised to see you here." He clicked his tongue, "Protecting these two is going to get you killed one of these days. I don't suppose you'd care to tell me where they are…?"

"Never." Castiel snarled.

Lucifer laughed to himself. "Of course not. Oh, and by the way, that oil? It isn't going to help you." With a wave of his hand the oil obediently shifted across the dusty floor, encircling Castiel snugly. Lucifer snapped his fingers and fire sprang into life.

In their hiding place, Dean clenched his fist tightly. Fuck, he wanted to put his fist through something. Preferably the devils face.

Lucifer circled Castiel slowly, only the ring of holy fire separating them. "What are you doing brother?"

Castiel glared.

Lucifer stopped, smirking. "You're loyalty is impressive, brother. Why waste it on these humans? You know they can never love you; they think of you as a _pet_. They don't understand you, not like I do." He stepped closer and whispered, "Join me. I can give you something better than grace; you'll be more powerful than you've ever been before. And you'll have me."

Castiel hesitated. Lucifer smiled. "Don't you miss it? Always being connected to your brothers? Knowing that you'll never be alone? I can give you that Castiel. I can give you _everything." _

Lucifer reached through the fire to grab Castiel's chin. He ran his thumb thoughtfully over Cas's lower lip.

Cas swallowed. Behind Lucifer he saw Sam and Dean creeping forward soundlessly. Castiel looked away quickly, fixing his eyes on Lucifer's. He needed to distract the fallen angel.

"Why me?" Castiel sighed in defeat and leaned into the devils touch.

Lucifer smiled softly, looking at Castiel as though he was a scared child. "Because you fascinate me, Castiel. You fell and yet… you're still so pure, so…innocent." He drew Cas closer, causing fire to lick at his coat. It was too close; Castiel gasped in pain and tired to move back, but Lucifer's held him fast, refusing to let him move.

"No no no, Castiel," he chided, "You're not going anywhere."

Cas felt an emotion rise in his chest, he identified it as panic. He swallowed, "Lucifer…"

The Devil silenced him with a kiss. It wasn't like with Dean; it just felt…wrong.

"Oh, Castiel," Lucifer pulled back with a frown. "I'm disappointed. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

Still holding him in place, Lucifer turned, and with a gesture sent Dean flying back. He landed in a heap on top of a stack of boxes, and collapsed noisily to the floor, surrounded by broken splinters.

Lucifer smiled and waved. "Hello, Sam. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you."

Sam seemed torn for a moment before he came to a decision. With an apologetic look at Castiel, he ran to Dean and helped him up.

Castiel watched them intently, trying to confirm from how he moved that Dean was okay.

"So that's how it is. Brother, you should know better than to love a human." He grinned cruelly, "Let me teach you why."

He released the angel, and stalked towards the Winchester's. Sam picked up a large piece of wood and swung it hard. Lucifer easily blocked the blow and knocked Sam back, clearly holding back, not wanting to harm him.

Dean, on the other hand…

"You see my dear Castiel, humans are weak."

He grabbed Dean's neck, lifting him off the ground.

"They're soft." He squeezed. Dean gasped, struggling for air. One hand gripped Lucifer's wrist tightly, and the other fumbled behind him pulling out a knife. He buried it in the Devils chest.

Lucifer laughed, "And they're stupid."

He threw Dean to the ground, and gripped the knife tightly and tossing it to the hunter, the silver blade dark with blood. "That knife won't work on me boy."

Dean coughed, rubbing his bruised throat. "I know."

Sam growled, suddenly right behind the fallen angel. "But this one will."

He plunged the black blade into Lucifer's back, and twisted. A red glow emanated from the wound as black cracks spread rapidly through his body; a crackling noise filled the air. Lucifer fell to his knees gasping.

Sam pulled out the knife and slit his throat. The devil crumpled.

"Dean?" Sam crept closer to his brother, reaching out a hand for his shoulder.

"I'm alright Sammy." Came Dean's rough reply. He tugged at his collar with a cough. That was going to be a vicious bruise tomorrow.

Tomorrow. He grinned at his brother and held out a hand. Sam grabbed it tightly, helping him to his feet. Dean hugged him hard.

The room darkened.

"Um… Sam?

They parted and turned to Cas.

Dean frowned. "How do we get him outta that?"

"…I think there's some holy water in the Impala…"

"Okay, that'll work." Dean raised his voice. "Don't go anywhere Cas!"

Castiel tilted his head, and then looked down at the fire. He fixed Dean with a puzzled stare that clearly stated, _Where could I go?_ The hunter laughed, and headed out with Sam.

Ah yes. Tomorrow would be a new day. The first day of the rest of their lives. Dean wrapped an arm around his brother with a new found spring in his step, his soul feeling lighter than it had been in years.

* * *

So back in the day when this was one of the first things I ever wrote (story number 2 in fact), this was exactly how I planned on ending it. Someone was a little sad it was… not action packed, but hey, sorry. Some folks wanted an ending, and… this is the ending. I hope you liked it. I'm sorry if you didn't.


End file.
